1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operating member, and particularly relates to an operating member which performs operation input by pressing a button.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a panel switch with a plurality of buttons integrally constructed by a hinge portion to be mounted to a case having a button opening is proposed (for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 5-33428).
However, since a plurality of buttons are integrally constructed in the panel switch as described above, in order to perform surface treatment (for example, plating, coating, polishing) individually for each button, it is necessary to apply masking to the other portions than the buttons for which the surface treatment is performed, and therefore, the treatment becomes troublesome. The buttons are sometimes placed at the positions separated from each other for design of the apparatuses and enhancement in operability. In this case, if each of the buttons is integrally constructed, there is the problem that the component such as the hinge portion increases in size and cost of the material increases. Further, the hinge portion requires enough strength to hold a plurality of buttons, and therefore, there is the problem that slimming is difficult.